Niko Bellic
Niko Bellic (Serbian: Нико Белић) is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV and a supporting character in The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. Niko grew up in Yugoslavia, present day Serbia, where he fought in the Yugoslav Wars. He later worked for organized crime syndicatesas a hired-gun in Liberty City. Ever since the Yugoslav Wars ended, Niko's main goal in life was to find and kill one of two men: Florian Cravic and Darko Brevic, for one of them betrayed and nearly killed him during the Wars. Niko is the cousin of Roman Bellic, son of Milica Bellic, and the cousin-in-law of Mallorie Bardas. Background 'Early life and family' Niko was born in Eastern Europe, most likely the Balkans. It was implied that his father was an abusive alcoholic. His mother, Milica Bellic, was unhappy that her son grew up in such a harsh place. In a conversation with Patrick McReary, Niko reveals that he had a brother who died during the Bosnian War. According to the dialogue in the mission Taking in the Trash, Niko dreamt of becoming an astronaut when he was a child. In a conversation with Dwayne Forge, Niko mentions the place he grew up did not have electricity until he was twelve. In a conversation with Kate McReary, Niko says that he found out his aunt (Roman's mother) was raped and murdered, some time after Roman's departure to the United States; knowing Roman would be even more devastated if he knew the true circumstances of his mother's death, Niko covered up what happened, telling him that she died in a house fire. Niko is currently the only protagonist to directly originate from Europe, although Tommy Vercetti and Toni Cipriani have European roots. 'Bosnian wars' Niko grew up in the harsh environment of the Yugoslav Wars, and was a teenage soldier (The Yugoslav Wars being between 1991 and 1995, this means Niko was only 13-17 years old at the time). Niko says that he was betrayed "ten years ago", making it closer to 1997 or 1998 (although Florian claims that its was "twelve or thirteen years ago" in a phone call after the mission That Special Someone). He served as a helicopter pilot and an infantryman during the war, and during the mission Easy Fare, Roman alludes to him driving a tank. During the war, Niko both witnessed and committed numerous atrocities, which led to his cynical perspective on life, and a certain degree of regret, depression, and emotional detachment. Eventually, Niko's unit of fifteen men (most of them friends from his hometown) were ambushed by enemy forces, but Darko Brevic, Florian Cravic, and Niko himself survived. Niko concluded that either Florian or Darko had sold the group out, and he vowed to uncover and kill the culprit, not only to gain revenge, but also to hopefully 'close the book' on the incident, and move on with his life. Appearence Niko has brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a facial hair that looks somewhat "scruffy" 5 o'clock shadow, that fits his 'thug' appearence very well. Niko isn't as heavily muscled than Luis or Johnny and he's more slender than both of them. Still, Niko has enough physical strenght to hold his own in a fistfight and he's capable of pulling himself on a ledge after hanging by his straight arms. Niko is most likely 5'11" (based on Yugoslavia average male height and by comparing Niko's height to other characters in game) making Niko about as tall as the American characters in game but shorter than Yugoslavia average height. This would make Gerald and Ray be about 6' tall while Patrick and Little Jacob about 5'10" tall. Niko has a scar running through his left brow. He most likely got the scar during the war but it's unconfirmed. Niko's body is 'average' and Bernie Crane said Niko "is still in great shape" and asking if Niko works out, to which Niko answered he doesn't work out but his dangerous lifestyle keeps him active. VCPD Database record Surname: Bellic First Name: Niko Age: 32 Place of Birth: Unknown Affiliations: Linked to Russian and West Indian Criminals in Broker Criminal Record: 2008 - Grand Theft Auto 2010 - Grand Theft Auto Notes: *Recent immigrant to Liberty City from Eastern Europe *Appears to be avoiding allegiance to one particular criminal organization. *More than likely leading the Bellic empire. In Other Media 'Popularity' Niko was voted 13th in the 2011 edition of the Guinness World Records for the Top 50 favorite game characters. His name was incorrectly spelled "Nico Bellic." 'Based On' Niko appears to be visually inspired by Sasha from the movie Behind Enemy Lines, which takes place in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war. Sasha's clothes are even available to buy in the Russian Shop.